The perspective of the survivors : the Importance of identifying and acknowledging the rescuers

Autorka podpisana na pub.: Annamaria Orla-Bukowska

Over seven decades have passed since Hungarian Jews became the largest single bloc of victims at Auschwitz-Birkenau, but it has also been over 70 years since some Hungarian non-Jews became rescuers of compatriots in more immediate danger. Unspeakable evil rivets more attention, hence volumes have been written about perpetrators while only a trickle of works speak of the Righteous Among the Nations of the World. What lessons are passed on to the youth of our countries if there are a hundred books on Himmler, but less than a handful on Sendler? Ultimately, human rights are only guaranteed by other human beings (much less by agencies and governments): a numerically insignificant populace can bear significant power. Moreover, in Central Eastern Europe, there is a need for such role models whose biographies illustrate strength in morality and the proactive civic responsibility and action required in societies recovering from totalitarianism.